Minnesota Orchestra Contract Ends Long Lockout

By MICHAEL COOPER

January 14, 2014

One of the most contentious labor battles in the classical music world ended on Tuesday when the musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra, who had been locked out for more than a year, agreed to a new contract with smaller pay cuts than management had initially sought.

The deal will pave the way for the players to return to Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, which was renovated while they were locked out, with concerts scheduled to resume in February.

The agreement ends a labor relations debacle that has left the ensemble locked out since October 2012; led its esteemed music director, Osmo Vanska, to resign after the orchestra’s planned appearance at Carnegie Hall was canceled; and forced the cancellation of the next recording in its acclaimed cycle of Sibelius symphonies. For months, state and local officials, including the governor of Minnesota and the mayor of Minneapolis, had pleaded for a resolution.

The three-year contract will cut base pay by 15 percent in the first year, to $96,824 from about$113,000 currently. It will give players a 2 percent raise in the second year and a 3 percent raise in the third year, bringing their pay back to $102,284. It will also require musicians to pay a “significantly greater” portion of their health care costs, but no details were provided.

Citing high deficits, the orchestra initially proposed cutting base pay by nearly one-third, to $78,000 a year. Later proposals would have cut base pay by one-quarter, although one of those offers would have been partly offset by a one-time $20,000 signing bonus. Those proposals were rejected.

It was unclear whether Mr. Vanska would return.

The deal also contains an unusual revenue-sharing agreement, which allows the players to receive additional money if the orchestra’s endowment averages 10 percent in investment returns over the course of the contract.